The House of Hades
by jabberwocky1182
Summary: An ancient feud has rekindled between the Greeks & Romans. Two brave heroes are lost to the depths of Tartarus & Gaea is waking. Will Percy & Annabeth survive the horrors of Tartarus or will their blood be used to raise Gaea from her slumber ? Will Nico and the others survive long enough to bring peace to the children of the Gods & save Percy& Annabeth from Tartarus? Read & Review!
1. Percy I

**Authors Note: I don't own this series or these characters. Also, first fanfiction, so input is appreciated. I just went back and revised this chapter/ added to it, so hopefully it is better now. I know there are a lot of "House of Hades" fanfic's out there but I love to write, I got really bored and decided I wanted to write my own. Let me know what you think, and if I should keep going! R&R.**

Percy I.

As far as Percy could tell, several days might have passed since he and Annabeth began their trip into the depths of Tartarus. It's hard to tell time in the darkness – Percy would almost be bored, if he wasn't so utterly terrified of what would happen when the falling stopped.

Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth, pulling her closer to his body.

After they had first started falling into darkness, he and Annabeth had been separated when they both slammed into a pretty big chunk of rock that was flying through the dark void with them.

Percy shuddered, remembering the wave of panic that crashed against his chest like a tidal wave. It had only lasted for a brief moment after impact when he had lost her again... But he didn't like feeling. When he finally found her in the darkness with a little help from Riptide's glowing blade, Percy's heart had nearly stopped.

Annabeth's blonde hair was stringy and matted with dry blood from the wound on her temple. She must have hit her head pretty hard on the rock. _Oh Gods –Help us._ Percy prayed silently, before remembering gloomily that there were no Gods in Tartarus.

Despair gripped Percy, filling his body with an unwelcome chill. Percy's mind felt like it was stretched in as many directions as the sea. In a brief moment of wisdom, he decided to tie Annabeth's wrist to his with his Camp Half-Blood necklace - he didn't think that he could handle another tsunami of panic that would crash into him if he lost her again on the fall down to Tartarus.

He gently pulled Annabeth's floating figure to tightly to his chest, sheltering her body from the ocasional rocks and debris they encountered while falling.

She was definitely breathing which was a good sign...But Percy was pretty worried - her head looked terrible, and her ankle had been in bad shape before they even started to fall. She had injured it while following Athena's crazy schizophrenic demand for vengeance on Rome. Percy had hated when Annabeth was alone on her quest, he felt so helpless not being able to help her. After Annabeth got kidnapped to lure Artemis, and then Percy went missing for eight months after the Titan War ended thanks to Juno, he wouldn't be separated from her again.

Annabeth shuddered slightly in Percy's arms, her breathing faltering ever so slightly. Panic started to rock Percy's body from deep within like a tumultuous earthquake. In desperation, and partly just to make himself not feel so utterly hopeless, Percy felt around in his pockets. Deep down in the very bottom of his left pocket were two very 2 lumpy, lent-covered squares of ambrosia that had definitely been sat on a few too many times. After quite a bit of effort, since he refused to let go of Annabeth for even a second, he managed to wiggle one hand into his pocket and retrieve the God's food. His injured arm screamed in protest when he flexed his strong bicep, but what was a little pain compared with keeping the agony of fear and trepidation at bay for a little while longer?

Eventually, and with quite a lot of effort, Percy pulled the first square of mushy Ambrosia out of his pocket. Normally, Ambrosia was a golden honey colored food - it looked like the sun made solid, and somehow it always tasted like home, if such a thing were possible. The color of this Ambrosia however, was as dirty and grey as the Styx itself.

After a one handed struggle with Annabeth's unconscious body, he managed to feed it to Annabeth - something that was no easy feat considering she was unconscious. He grimaced thinking about what she might say if she knew he had fed her weeks old fuzzy-pocket Ambrosia, but the fact was she needed it, and what Percy needed was to take care of her. In a strange way, he felt like feeding her the revitalizing substance and sheltering her from further harm gave him a sense of purpose in the dark abyss and endless falling, it kept him in the present and alert.

A tiny voice in his head - the voice that usually spoke in Annabeth's wise voice, told him that he should save the second square in case something terrible happened later in Tartarus - which it probably would knowing Percy's luck. Percy knew Annabeth would have a fit if she found out that he fed her the last of the Ambrosia. She would have demanded that he eat some too and he probably should have – Percy had a deep gash in the side of his arm that had bled quite a bit, and he was pretty sure he was concussed, but his wounds seemed superficial compared to Annabeth's broken ankle and gaping head gash. _And after all, she wouldn't really know that I had fed her the last of the Ambrosia_, he reasoned to himself with a smirk. He fed her the second square of ambrosia, and her breathing steadied as her skin warmed under his touch.

Percy glanced down at her and pulled her head more securely against his chest. Percy's final oath to Annabeth before they started their fall came to his mind again. _"We're staying together," _he promised._ "You're not getting away from me. Never again."_

Percy kissed Annabeth gently on the forehead, desperately wishing that she would open her eyes and kiss him back. Despite the terror and gloom that had consumed him during his journey - the result of being alone with his own thoughts on the way to Tartarus - Percy closed his eyes for the briefest of moments and just held her, letting himself feel her warmth against him. His heart flooded with a tiny glimmer of satisfaction that he and Annabeth were together, even if it was in the worst place ever and under the worst circumstances ever.

He would never have let her fight Tartarus by herself - no one should have to face that terror alone, especially not after she had struggled through her greatest fears on her quest to avenge Athena...Arachne had fallen into Tartarus, he knew it. Percy could never leave Annabeth to face her fear twice in a row, especially not after how furious Arachne would be at the daughter of Athena for sending her back to Tartarus and retrieving the Athena Parthenon.

"Annabeth…stay with me okay? Just don't leave me. Please wake-up. Please." Percy's voice cracked, thick with a swirl of emotions as he begged for her to wake up. He was terrified of being alone when they reached the bottom of Tartarus, being alone on the fall had been torture.

Hours passed, and Percy felt his strength draining. He had been fighting against the exhaust and need to sleep, enduring countless blows by rocks and debris. He had to stay alert, he had to make sure they would be alright...he had to stay awake. Percy couldn't fight off his exhaustion any longer. He had been awake the entire time they were falling, and best he could tell – they had been falling for days. His throat was dry and cracked, and his eyes burned with sleepiness.

Against his will, Percy's eyes drooped. The harder he tried to stay awake, the faster it seemed he fell into slumber. With one last conscious thought, Percy squeezed Annabeth closer to him, before his eyes fluttered shut and he drifted into the realm of dreams.

* * *

He was in a limo. Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love sat in front of him. Her hair seemed to glow like the light from a star, subtly twinkling and changing. Her hair was enough to be mesmerizing in itself, but the Goddess's eyes captivated Percy like a child of Ares playing with a new weapon.

To Percy, her eyes appeared to shift like a quickly fading sunset over the ripple of waves in a tropical lagoon. They never seemed the same color for more than the briefest of minutes - By the time he thought he had figured out the color of the Goddess's eyes, they transformed into a new and even more enigmatic color. Sometimes though, he thought they looked a little like Annabeth's stormy grey eyes, always shifting, but before he could be sure that they looked like Annabeth's eyes, they shifted again. Aphrodite's dulcet voice floated out across the air towards him, making him feel warm and hazy.

_"And don't worry," Aphrodite __said. "I'm not going to let this be easy and boring for you. No, I have some wonderful surprises in store. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you just wait." _That definitely snapped him out of his spellbound gaze towards the Goddess.

_"That's really okay," I_ _told her. "Don't go to any trouble."_

* * *

The scene faded back to darkness. For a brief moment in the deep subconscious of Percy's mind, he wondered if this would was going to be the tragic ending to his love with Annabeth. After all, he had been warned that Aphrodite loved tragic love stories, and hadn't Ares, the God of War even told Percy that he was some sort of Demi-God soap opera star?

Percy's dreams drifted in and out of old memories. Suddenly, the old memories faded, and Grover's face appeared in his mind:

* * *

"Percy? Percy! What's happening? I've been getting some really bad vibes from you lately - so bad I can't even play Eye of The Tiger on my reed pipes anymore, and now all of the strawberries at Camp Half-Blood are wilting! Dionysus won't be happy when he sees the state of the back fields..." Grover's voice trailed off as he shoved the corner of a memory foam pillow into his mouth and tore a chunk off. He looked at Percy confused as their connection broke in and out.

"Grover! Listen, you've got to-Nico-the others-meet us" Percy said, his choppy connection breaking up his thoughts..he wasn't sure how much Grover had understood. He didn't know for sure but Percy had the feeling this might be the last time he talked to Grover for awhile, maybe even forever.

"What? Per- what in Styx-Nico-where?" Grover's message made no sense to Percy.

"Grover, listen, you've got to break the connection!" Percy shouted back in the darkness. He heard a muted bleat of disagreement from his friend before he knew his connection with Grover had gone. He had hoped that it was because Grover was smart and broke the link between them, but dread filled his heart when he was engulfed by a sensation around his throat that was so icy cold, it felt like he was being burned. His eyes peeled open in horror and shock, but Annabeth was still resting gently against Percy's chest, her blood crusted hair swirling around her face. Percy glanced wildly around - there were no visible monsters in the darkness. Percy shivered violently - the temperature instantly felt like it had dropped twenty degrees in a matter of seconds. He spluttered to breathe against the the invisible vice-grip around his throat, trying to force air into his lungs with little luck. _Oh Gods. He was suffocating. _The feeling of absolute dread rose within him as he remembered the burn that comes from desperately needing air. Percy had never admitted it openly, but ever since had nearly suffocated after falling in muskeg during a quest with Hazel and Frank in Alaska, he had developed a pretty substantial phobia of suffocating. His eyes burned in their sockets as panic started to seep deep inside his mind.

"_Yes, little Hero. You exceeded my expectations – You and Annabeth are coming right to me. Such sweet sacrifices your blood will make - the God's favorite hero and his love graced by destiny. Come to me, Perseus Jackson. Come and water my sacred stones, raise me and feed my wrath with your hero's blood," _Gaea's voice filled the void. He wasn't dreaming anymore. This was definitely real.

Stars began to erupt behind Percy's eyes, his head swimming with the lack of oxygen.

Percy pulled the cap off Riptide and swung it through the thin air around his body. The grip loosened on his throat and Percy gasped for a breath of air before Gaea's hold on his neck intensified. With a terrified realization, Percy saw crusty yellowed eyes in the stone as they fell. The eyes were mostly closed, but were starting to open a crack at the bottom.

"Get out of my head!" Percy roared with his little remaining air as Gaea gripped his through once more. Gaea let out a deep, throaty chuckle that seemed to vibrate the very air around him as he and Annabeth swirled deeper and deeper into hell.

"Very well. But we will be seeing each other soon, Perseus Jackson, much sooner than you think." Gaea's voice boomed in voice that sounded like Hannibal, the Roman war elephant's shriek.

Sooner than he thought? That didn't sound too good to Percy. Percy looked down again, and to his utter horror, he saw a light moving closer and closer towards him. The icy choke-hold Gaea had around his neck faded. In the last few seconds before he and Annabeth crashed to the bottom of Tartarus, several things seemed to happen at once. He felt a pull around his navel and found himself roughly tugged up by an invisible, icy force – Gaea's force. Percy's body slowed momentarily, but not enough to keep his landing from seriously hurting.

In desperation, Percy pulled Annabeth to him one last time.

"I love you Annabeth," Percy whispered as he wrapped his one arm protectively around her head and the other tightly around her back.

He had just enough time to twist in the air, pulling Annabeth on top of him, his back facing directly towards the ground like a human air bag. Percy squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself. For a fleeting moment percy thought of his family - Poseidon, his baby cyclops brother Tyson, and most of all, his mom and her blue colored food_. _ _I'm sorry, Mom, _he thought hopelessly, wondering if he would see her again and thinking to himself he probably wouldn't.

When Percy finally hit the ground, it felt like the pain of 1000 bolts of lightening ripping through every muscle and bone in his body. He collided with a sickening crunch against the hard rock ground. The air was forced out of his lungs, but he couldn't seem to find more.

White-hot pain surged through Percy's body. So much pain. Percy couldn't move. He couldn't breath. Surely, this was the end. His red-tinted vision swam in and out of focus for the briefest of moments before black spots appeared in the middle of his already blurry vision, growing larger and larger. He tried to call out Annabeth's name, but he had no air in his lungs to utter a single word. Rapidly, the darkness overpowered the Hero of Olympus. It called to him, promising peace and reprieve from the pain. _Please Gods, no more pain. Please._ Before he knew what was happening, the blackness in his mind washed over him and he saw no more.

**So what did everyone think? Review and let me know if you would like to read more!**

**Also - about falling for days into Tartarus, there were some different Greek mythologies regarding Tartarus, one such being that it took 9 days to fall from earth to Tartarus, so thats the one I went with. Things will be a little drama filled for the next few chapters but its needed to get the story in the direction I want to take it for their journey to the doors of death so don't worry too much, this story will definitely involve both Percy and Annabeth and others as well.**


	2. Nico II

**Okay, This is the second part of the first chapter I wrote, but i decided to break it into two chapters instead. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions! **

Nico II.

Nico Di Angelo had been sitting in Percy's cabin on the Argo II for four days now. The others all sat together, mumbling about what had happened and comforting each other on the loss of Percy and Annabeth. But the truth was, even though the other's didn't believe him, Nico knew Percy and Annabeth were alive – It was a son of Hades thing. He could tell that their souls had not departed for the Underworld, and he was almost certain that he would know if that changed.

What didn't change was the fact that no one wanted him around. Nico understood…The others felt like they had lost their friends to death, and death was kind the foundation of Nico's essence as a Demi-God. Between both the Greek and Roman camps, Percy was really the first and only Demi-God that ever actually treated him as a friend right from the start, other than Hazel of course, whom he had found in Asphodel and snuck out of the underworld. Other demo-gods followed suit in accepting Nico eventually, but it was all Percy's influence that made it happen.

It was Percy who fought so hard to save Nico from Kronos even when Nico hated Percy and blamed him for Bianca. It was Percy who got Nico to step up and convince Hades to help in the Battle of Manhattan - One of the first chances for the House of Hades to step up and get some respect and recognition. It was the only thing Nico ever did that made his Dad proud. And it was Percy who got the camp to add a cabin for children of Hades...Nico thought wistfully of how much he took Percy for granted before now.

Now that Percy was gone, he could feel the feelings of acceptance that the other Demi-God's offered him when Percy was still around, fading away slowly. They still respected him of course, after all, he was a son of the big three, and the only Demi-God around that could raise the dead. He was the Ghost King, Prince of the Underworld. But it was more than that, Nico thought. Deep down, they feared him. Fear was always an emotion Nico could sense easily. The underworld reeked of it, and slowly when in Nico's presence and in the absence of Percy, the other Demi-Gods on the Argo II began to reek of fear too.

Nico gritted his teeth in annoyance. He was ashamed to even think it, but he had to admit Percy's fatal flaw had definitely just landed him in Tartarus. Not that he shouldn't have sacrificed himself to save Annabeth, but the big picture was that Nico and the others needed Percy more than Annabeth did – he was their leader, their strength, the glue that kept so many warring personalities of various Demi-Gods together as one. Jason was the link between Romans and Percy was the link between the Greeks. Without him, Nico could see that the others were like a handful marbles being dropped on the floor - each one wanted to roll in a different direction and follow their own path. The result was absolute chaos.

And Styx...If anyone could survive Tartarus, it was Percy...but what kind of shape he might come out of Tartarus in, Nico did not like to think. Nico had been to Tartarus once. He had only survived because he was the son of Hades and could summon dead soldiers to fight for him, and well, he smelled like death so he was able to lay pretty low. Percy was the strongest demigod Nico knew. He could fight unlike any other hero Nico had ever witnessed. But Percy also smelled like the sea on a clear sunny day, and that was bound to smell awfully good to starved and craved monsters in the depths of hell.

Percy would fight. But Nico also knew even Percy would tire eventually, and when he did, all of Tartarus and the Dark Lord of the Pit himself would jump at the chance to attack him - After all, Tartarus was not just a really crappy place, but a primordial God, the husband of Gaea. He would not pass up the chance to serve Percy up on a silver platter to Gaea. Nico knew that the spirit of Tartarus would not just physically attack Percy. A physical attack Nico knew Percy could handle. It was Tartarus's twisted mind games that were so dangerous. Psychological warfare didn't even begin to cover what Tartarus and its inhabitants was capable of.

The mental terrors Nico had endured during his time in Tartarus were indescribable. Tartarus was...well there were no words that Nico could actually come up with that would accurately describe the hell that even the Olympians feared. It was simply indescribably, unimaginably agony and terror.

Nico looked around Percy's cabin glumly. A picture of Percy and Annabeth sat on the small nightstand next to the bed. He walked across the room and picked it up. Looking at the faces of his two friends, anger welled up inside of him. How could Percy just sacrifice himself to Tartarus and charge him with so much? How could he put his trust in Nico to lead the quest, to save him? No one would follow a son of Hades, this would be impossible, Nico thought angrily. A single dusty skeleton warrior materialized eerily from the wooden floor of the ship, dawning ancient looking greek armor and a 6 foot long imperial bronze spear that would have made Ares drool.

The appearance of the skeleton just seemed to reconfirm everything that Nico already knew - he was all wrong for this job, he was no Hero of Olympus. Percy was always the guy saving people, not Nico. Nico was more of a lone wolf. Nico slowed his breathing, letting his frustration and helplessness leave him. He concentrated momentarily on the skeleton.

"Alcaeus, Tell my father what has happened, tell him where I am going and what I am doing," Nico ordered the skeleton warrior.

The skeleton's empty eye sockets turned towards Nico's face before the skeleton pulled its ring, middle and index fingers to its forehead, extending the fingers out in a sweeping motion. Nico nodded in acknowledgement of the skeleton's perfect solute as a soldier of the army of ghost warrior's that Nico had been organizing in the underworld with his Dad. The skeleton grinned a toothy grin before vaporizing into dust with Nico's message. Nico's powers had improved a great deal, and now, more often than not he was able to chose what warriors from the ghost army were summoned to him. Alcaeus was the last warrior of an ancient Greek family blood line. His family were legendary warriors, the very name of Alcaeus meant strength. The ghost warrior had already proved his merit in battle for Nico many times and Nico knew his father would get the message.

There was a knock at the door. Nico stood warily and opened it. His sister Hazel, daughter of Pluto stood in the doorway looking defeated and drained.

"Nico, we need you upstairs, the others are getting together to discuss what we should do now." Hazel looked at Nico with obvious concern.

"I am fine," He told her dismissing her prying gaze. He didn't want to talk about what had happened with Percy and Annabeth. The others might be upset over what had happened, but it wasn't the same as how Nico felt. Percy was the closest thing to a brother Nico had anymore.

Nico sighed. He had been a poor friend to Percy Jackson, but Percy had never given up on being a loyal friend to Nico. After all, they don't call unwavering loyalty Percy's fatal flaw for nothing. Percy was exactly like a hellhound but twice as fierce - It was a little known fact that Hellhounds are intensely loyal companions. They would give their life in a heartbeat to protect their kin or their master. Percy was probably the only non-Hades sired Demi-God in history to have a hellhound as a pet.

Percy had once said that he thought the Hellhound stuck around because Daedalus had left her to him, but Nico knew it was more than that. The bond between Mrs. O'Leary and Percy was forged out of something much deeper - an understanding of what true devotion really was. Loyalty was what drove both Percy and Mrs. O'Leary to blindly and selflessly sacrifice everything for a friend in need - as Mrs. O'Leary had done for Percy countless times, and as Percy had done for his friends.

Nico welled up inside with steely determination. It wasn't just Percy that could be loyal, Nico thought. He owed Percy. It was Nico's responsibility to make sure he followed through on his promise to save Percy and get the others safely to the side of the Gates in the Underworld.

"I will be up in a second," Nico told his sister. She looked like she wanted to say something, but instead, she just nodded and walked back up the hall. As Hazel vanished, Nico took action. He closed his eyes and focused on the animals born of shadow. Mrs. O'Leary sprang forth out of the shadows Nico searched within. This was what Nico wanted but he hadn't realized how unpleasant it would be to be stuck in room that Mrs. O'Leary suddenly materialized in seeing as she was the size of a garbage truck and filled the whole room leaving Nico smashed against a wall.

"Travel size, Mrs. O'leary!" Nico shouted, his voice muffled against the wood of the cabin. Mrs. O'leary shrank into the size of a closet wardrobe, and Nico unstuck himself from the wall.

"Good girl. Mrs. O'Leary, I need you to go to Tartarus." Nico said sadly. Mrs. O'Leary looked at Nico with confusion and sadness, her ears going back. She clearly thought she had misbehaved and was being punished.

"You are the only one that can help, listen, Percy -" Mrs. O'Leary perked up at the name of her master, wagging her tail violently and shaking the entire cabin. "Yes, Percy. Mrs. O'Leary Percy needs your help, he fell into Tartarus with Annabeth.."

Mrs. O'Leary stopped wagging her tail instantly, her ears drooping again.

"You have to help them, okay girl? Find Percy, help him get to the doors" Nico told her. She looked down at the ground sadly, and then determinately barked back at Nico before jumping into a shadow. Nico knew it would be a few days before Mrs. O'Leary made it to Tartarus, he just hoped it was in time to help.

With a sigh, Nico stood and made his way upstairs.

The atmosphere in the team room was grim at best. Jason's arm was draped around Piper, staring at the floor with a very stern and serious look on his face, like he was trying to beat the floor in a staring contest. Piper's exquisite face was tear stained and exhausted. Nico wasn't sure how, but somehow she was even prettier when she was crying than normal - Her eyes always seemed so much brighter, and the colors...Nico shook his head tiredly - he was sure it was just the light playing tricks on him again. The Son of Hades was better adapted to darkness than the light. Leo sat away from the group in the corner, his dark curls cascading over his warm caramel colored skin.

Nico turned to the opposite corner and eyed Frank with a look of distaste - He knew Percy liked Frank a lot, but Nico didn't like the way Frank seemed to rely on Hazel for so much. He could never figure out what exactly Frank relied on Hazel for, what burden she carried for him, but he knew that whatever it was, it was emotionally draining for her. And if that weren't enough to dislike the guy, he _always_ seemed to have his hands on his sister. Nico glanced coldly at Frank and somehow, as if Frank could sense his glare, he met Nico's eyes. His narrow brown eyes widened in terror when he saw the look Nico was giving him, a black aura glowed ominously around his body. Frank seemed paralyzed in Nico's gaze, so powerfully affected by the son of Hades that his breath began to fog in the air as if it were freezing, even though Festus controlled the cabin temperature constantly and held it at a comfortable 73 degrees.

As Frank stiffened next to Hazel as Nico unintentionally let his anger slowly dim Frank's life-force. Hazel broke out of the reverie she had been in since Nico arrived, her eyes snapping between Frank and then to Nico. She dropped a shining green emerald the size of a bowling ball out of pretty much thin air. _Wow, that was a big one,_ Nico thought to himself.

"NICO. STOP IT RIGHT NOW." Hazel's fury radiated around the room, catching the others off guard. _Great. Now they will really be afraid of the freak son of Hades..._Nico thought bitterly.

"Sorry, accident. Sorry Frank.." Nico wasn't sorry, not at all. He released his hold on Frank's soul, and the color returned to Franks Face. He wasn't strong enough to rip the soul right out of Frank's body, but he could incapacitate someone for awhile by doing it. Nico apologized for Hazels benefit, cooling her temper back down. The stares Nico got around the room from the others ranged from dislike, to fear, to wonder (in Leo's case!).

"Cool man! You can...well I don't know what you would call that, but that was rad!" Leo said enthusiastically.

Hazel shot Leo a distasteful look, fanning her face slightly with her hand like she did sometimes when she was upset. It was a very old-fashioned gesture, but then again, Hazel was a very old-fashioned girl, literally.

The silence that followed in the minutes after the incident with Frank was so awkward, Nico would rather bathe in the Styx than endure one more second of it. What would Percy do? Well, he would probably break the ice by doing something stupid. Nico had already done something stupid but it wasn't the same. He didn't think that there was ever a time when Percy almost killed someone just by letting anger, Nico's own fatal flaw rule him. To add insult to injury, there was no Annabeth to make light of the tense moment or general stupidity of others, so it didn't provide the stress relief and comedy to the crew. They all stared at him with dislike. He couldn't take the silence anymore. Biting his bottom lip, the son of Hades mumbled an apology to the group at large and turned to face them.

"Uh, s-so. I promised Percy that I would get you guys to the Doors of Death, that we would all meet him there." Nico looked around. Silence.

"And uh, Camp Half-Blood is going to be under attack by the Romans any day now if it hasn't already happened. We need to get the Parthenon to camp, it's supposed to be the only thing that can merge the warring sides of the Gods, right?" Nico said. No one answered.

"Okay seriously! I get it. You would rather have Percy here than me. You all feel bad. Poor Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus. Yeah. It really sucks. But we can't just sit here and mope. Jason, you were Praetor, you were a leader. Do something. I made a promise to Percy, and I intend to keep it but we need a plan and in case you haven't notice, Annabeth isn't here anymore to come up with one for us."Nico knew the last part was a little harsh, but he never raised his voice a single decibel. Nico didn't need to shout to get his message across to the others – a deathly chill fell over the room in his anger as a skeleton warrior materialized behind him. _Gods, bad timing._ Nico thought to himself. He had always had a bit of a temper to say the least, and when he got agitated the skeletons just appeared, ready to kill his enemies and do his bidding.

The others gasped. Jason sprung up and flipped a gold coin in the air, cathing the hilt as his coin morphed into an Imperial gold weapon. Nico looked over his shoulder at the skeleton in annoyance.

"Get lost," he told the skeleton, irritated. The skeleton nodded once with a menacing look in Jason's direction before promptly dissolving back into the hull of the ship. The others all looked pretty unnerved at the spontaneous appearance of a dead guy.

All except for Hazel. She let out a half-audible giggle, all anger towards Nico forgotten. Frank's eyes were wide with shock and, was it Nico's imagination or did Frank look a little indignant at Hazel's reaction? He was staring at Hazel like she was insane. The silence that followed was so awkward Nico could have melted.

"Sorry," Nico muttered, embarrassed.

This kind of thing never happened to Percy when he tried to motivate people. Nico was again reminded of how wrong he was for this job – he wasn't a hero, or a people person. Jason looked at Nico warily, and took his seat again.

"So Jason, what exactly were you going to kill with your sword…the skeleton was already dead" Piper teased him, trying to lighten the mood. Jason just glowered back, ignoring the chance to lift tensions.

"We need to get the statue to camp." Jason said. "Any ideas?"

"Why don't we just like…mail it or something?" Leo asked.

"Leo, it's a 40-foot statue of a goddess. We are NOT mailing it." Hazel said pointedly. Leo muttered something under his breath about building a teleport device and Piper rolled her eyes.

"Okay, lets try for practical ideas," Piper said, her charm washing over the room.

"Hey…Leo might have a point about mailing it.." Nico said. Piper looked at him in confusion – she was sure her charm had worked, so either Nico was crazy or he was stupid and he actually thought they could mail it.

"No, listen. If we could maybe talk to Chiron with an Iris message, maybe we can see if Mr. D can get in touch with Hermes...He is the God of messengers right? He's practically like the UPS God. The schizophrenia thing that is happening with the Gods, well, they want it to stop, obviously, so they might help us...And what better way to help us than by restoring Athena's honor and setting a score that has caused countless deaths among their own children for centuries?" Nico's words were considered around the room.

"Nico…normally I think you would be right, but the God's wont contact any of us, remember? They are all pretty mad at Hera, and Zeus has forbidden it. I don't think we can count on the Gods right now for help." Jason interjected. More silence.

"Leo, how long will it take us to get to the Doors of Death?" Frank asked the group

"Whoa no. If you have a ship related question, you can ask the Supreme Comander - Valdezzzz." The others looked at Leo blankly. Leo was frequently afflicted with the need to be absolutely ridiculous..his personality was big for a little guy and sometimes it was a little annoying.

"We need to get to Greece right?. If we leave now, we could be there tomorrow night" Leo stated abashed, looking at Nico for confirmation.

"They are in Greece, but the thing is, we need to get that statue back to Camp or there wont be any camp to return to after the quest. It is going to take Percy and Annabeth at least a week to get to the doors in Tartarus. There might be just enough time to get the statue back, and meet Percy and Annabeth at the Doors of Death." Nico said hopefully. "But we would have to leave…like now."Nico looked around the room.

"Are we even sure Percy and Annabeth are…s-still…how do we know if they a-are you know..." Piper hesitated.

"Alive?" Nico asked. Piper nodded sadly.

"Look, I know this doesn't make sense to you guys," Nico glanced at Hazel, "but we are pretty sure that Percy and Annabeth are still alive." Nico finished.

"We?" Frank looked at Hazel again, confused and a little unnerved.

"Nico and I…we can sense souls. We can't sense Percy or Annabeth's souls because they havn't departed for the Underworld yet – they aren't at the gates of judgement. If they were to die, their souls would go to judgement and then pass on through the gates of Elysium, and well, Nico's other sister Bianca is in Elysium. She promised she would let us know if either of them showed up. And besides..I know we would sense them." Hazel said shakily.

"Okay. Lets do it. Lets drop the statue off, and get to the Doors of Death. We don't have any time to lose." Jason got up, looking eager just to get out of the same room as the children of Pluto and Hades. He looked at Leo again.

"Put us on a course home, full speed ahead – we have an invasion to stop."

As everyone stood to leave, Nico stood and walked out and onto the deck of the Argo II. They were sailing through the air of the coast of Rome, the sails rippling in the wind. Nico preferred the sea to the air, but without Percy they couldn't risk being attacked by some terrible sea monster or Shrimpzilla again. Either way, Nico would have much preferred to shadow travel. Mechanical oars spun dizzingly in their riggers, pushing them further away from the glittering outline of the eternal city of Rome in the distance. Open sea stood in front of them, wafting a sea breeze and salty air across Nico's face.

Nico closed his eyes, letting the feeling of the sea wash over his sentences. Suddenly, Nico felt like he had gotten punched in the gut. He sat down hard on the deck. _Not good..._Nico thought. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the smell of the salt, the water and the breeze that smelled faintly of seaweed.

Nico's blood slowed in his veins as he projected himself into darkness answering a calling, following the smell of the sea into the darkness and depths of his father's realm. His presence shimmered toward the gates of Judgement where Rhadamanthys, Minos and Aiakos sat on their massive thrones made of compacted human souls - not a pleasant trio. Something wasn't right – he followed the smell of salt and his heart fell. Percy - no, not Percy, Percy's _soul_ stood in front of the three judges of death. His soul shone, giving off a blue and green aura much brighter than the average soul Nico saw down here, even compared to other Demi-Gods.

_No._Nico thought. Percy couldn't be here. He _needed_ to live. Nico moved forward so he could hear the conversation between Percy and the three judges. He quickly realized however, that there was a fourth man. Nico froze. His father's cold steel gaze caught Nico's eye, and he interrupted the three judges.

"Enough! Nico, step forward." Hades roared. It was clear he was in an absolute rage - _Great_. Nico obeyed immediately not wanting to anger Hades further. Go figure, Seaweed Brain even manages to piss Nico's dad off and he's not even living anymore, Nico thought dryly. _Gods no. This is all wrong._ Nico pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked at his Father.

Percy's soul turned and looked at Nico with confusion, but before either of them could speak, Hades roared out in fury cursing the three fates.

"Apparently, I am to be insulted by those three hags. Fate. What a stupid idea – everyone is fated to die in the end. I _will_ have what belongs to me! This is my realm to rule and I _will collect now._ You - judges - _YOU_ say I must wait? Who are you to order me?"

"But Lord Hades, the fates have forbidden it." Aiakos said in a nasally voice.

"Styx on the fates." Hades roared.

"My Lord, the ancient order, the laws -" Minos stopped talking the second Hades glared at him.

"Ugh - the stupid laws. Fates. Puh. Stupid. My brothers don't follow the laws, Hera interferes directly, yet I am the one denied my right as Lord of the Underworld. But very well, for even Gods are bound by ancient laws - I don't take my vows on the Styx quite as lightly as others. Damn the whole lot of them."

"Father, I don't understand. What is going on?" Nico asked cautiously. Asking any question of Hades when he was in a bad mood was highly unadvisable. Hades glared at his son.

"Atropos, the third fate - string cutter and life extinguisher will not cut Perseus's string. They say he was not supposed to fall into Tartarus. He was not supposed to die yet. Apparently, the _great_ Perseus Jackson _must _live, or the world will_ surely_ end" Hades said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He let out a mighty roar and filled with such wrath, the entire ground shook – no doubt causing a massive earthquake somewhere above in the mortal world. Nico didn't know what to think.

"Wait, does that mean I am not dead?" Percy asked hopefully.

"Hades, Please let us send the little Hero to Elysium? The boy has clearly played his part or he wouldn't be here. The fates have no business controlling you, my Lord." Minos said, his eyes gleaming maliciously. Minos didn't like Percy - Percy had interfered when Minos tried to manipulate Nico when he was just ten years old. "And just think of the _fun _we could have with him. No one says he has to go to Elysium right away.." Minos finished evilly. Nico's temper flared.

"Enough, Minos, that will never happen" He spat.

"I've heard enough, the boy is mine, I declare it._" Hades finished in a deadly growl. "_Nico, away with you, your presence is infuriating me at the moment." Hades looked at Nico briefly, before flipping his hand and expelling Nico's presence from the underworld. The last image he saw before he opened his eyes back on the Argo II, was his Dad gripping Percy's soul by his neck and pulling him along as Percy issued a continuous flow of cuss words in Greek, some of which Nico had never even heard before, but he had no trouble getting the message. The Three Fates Stood unnoticed to anybody but Nico, looking at Hades with curiosity and anger. They held Percy's string up, but for what purpose, Nico didn't know. He did know that his father would not willingly return a soul that had come to him out of a natural death. Nico's heart plummeted at the thought. Percy had obviously died, but what about the Fates? Nico didn't even know what to say or think about them. He jut knew one thing - Percy had definitely died. They had failed before they even began.

When Nico opened his eyes a little, he was back on the Argo II, and Jason, Hazel and Frank were huddled around him whispering.

"So still he felt dead –…" his heart feels like it's barely moving –… "He is shadow dreaming. He will wake soon." The last voice was Hazel's.

Nico sat up suddenly, startling the others who hadn't realized yet that he was awake as his blood began to speed up, warming his body back to a more normal temperature.

"Nico! What happened?" Jason asked. Nico didn't much like Jason's huge form hovering over him, but he ignored that. He didn't know what to say. Percy was in the underworld, clearly something had happened, something went wrong, and had died. Annabeth hadn't been there with him either...Nico had a bad feeling that Percy probably did something incredibly heroic and insanely stupid to save her. Nico shook his head sadly, true grief gripping him to the core. His throat felt thick, like he couldn't swallow. Four skeletons erupted around Nico as his eyes started to tear up. The others seemed more shocked by Nico's tears than they did by the four warriors popping out of nowhere.

"Nico," Hazel said gently, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Is it..I felt..well I don't know what I felt. Who?" She finally finished, at a loss for words. At her touch the skeletons vanished, and Nico turned his face away from the others. He couldn't bare to look at them. At any of them. Hazel's lip trembled, her large brown eyes filled with emotion.

"Percy," He said numbly. It was all too much for him. Nico chanced a look at the others only to see confusion on every face but Hazel who's face had twisted in pain, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"Percy what?" Jason asked blankly.

"Percy died." Nico answered.

**:) But is Percy really dead? Review and let me know if I should keep posting (I will probably keep writing either way but if theres no interest I probably wont continue to post it) So let me know!**


	3. Anabeth III

**Wasn't sure if I was going to really keep writing this, only got one review, but what the heck. Maybe I will keep writing a little more…**

**I don't own Percy Jackson & the Olympians or Hero's of Olympus **

Annabeth III

The cavern was gloomy. The drip-drop of water plopping to the ground from stalactites echoed softly. Annabeth stepped through the misty gloom of the cave, her dagger out and ready. Her ankle was stiff but had managed to heal quite a bit. Perhaps time flowed faster in Tartarus? She wasn't sure.

She had simply woken up on the ground in a huge cavernous and desolate landscape. Rocks and debris lay strewn here or there are the dry stone and dirt of the ground.

The area seemed to glow with a deep brown light that was dim and ominous like being inside a whale. Then she heard it – a weak groan from the corner.

Percy! Annabeth rushed forward to Percy but when she saw him her heart nearly stopped. Percy was pale, and we're talking Nico Di Angelo Pale.

A sheet of sweat blanketed his face, and his chest struggled to rise and fall with every ragged breath. A pool of his blood swirled in the dampness of the cavern around him.

"Oh Gods." Annabeth whispered. She didn't know what to do – there was so much blood she didn't even know how he could be alive.

"Don't die Seaweed Brain! Not when I have finally found you again!" Percy's body shuddered in her arms, and she was certain that he would not live. Annabeth gripped her head in her hands unsure what she could do to save him.

Suddenly a shimmer of light appeared before them, blinding Annabeth temporarily as she shielded her face. Three old women appeared in front of Annabeth – The Fates. Annabeth just gawked before a scowl appeared on her face. It was their fault that this had happened.

"Child of Athena, listen now." The second woman glared at Annabeth, cutting off the demi-god before she could open her mouth to speak.

"The boy's time is not yet come. Whether it comes at the spilling of blood to raise the Mother, or whether in some distant battle – the boy messed with Fate. It must be restored for the balance of things lest chaos be allowed to rule again."

"What can I do?" Annabeth cried desperately. She would do anything that needed to be done to save Percy. New hope rose in her but the logic of her mind told her that Percy couldn't possibly live with how damaged his body was. He had a collapsed lung from impact; a rib was sticking visibly out of his chest. Blood had pooled in his lips as he tried weakly to expel the sticky substance from his lungs earlier. His head had a deep gash across his temple, blood pouring down his neck and over his cut up arm and damaged shoulder. Annabeth couldn't stand how broken he looked.

"Focus child" The third fate hissed. "You must find the one who when slayed is the bringer of both death and life. Percy himself has fought all three, but on in particular your eyes must flee." The fate answered annoyingly.

Annabeth scowled. Percy fought all three…..she thought to herself about the different monsters, Titans, Giants and Gods that Percy had fought. Then suddenly the answer struck her. Percy had almost died in a gamble during a quest with Frank and Hazel where he bet _Gorgon blood_. Blood from one side of the monster would heal any wound, while blood from the other would kill any enemy.

"The Gorgons" Annabeth answered to the fates.

"They reside beyond that rocky ridge to the east. Your time is limited, Daughter of Athena. We are preventing Perseus's soul from being admitted to rest but you must heal his body. Hades holds Percy's soul, but a body isn't healed without a soul. The Gorgon blood will heal his body _and_ soul, reuniting them. Not even Hades will be able to prevent it. Fate will be righted."

Before Annabeth could even answer, the Fates smiled at Annabeth before vanishing. She sat with Percy in her arms at a loss for how to go about killing a Gorgon. How could she fight and enemy? She would have to leave Percy and what if something else happened or something took him. She doubted even Gorgon's blood could fix someone beating eaten.

As though someone were listening to her thoughts, Mrs. O'Leary jumped out of a shadow near Annabeth, scaring her half to death.

"Mrs. O'Leary! Thank the Gods!" Mrs. O'Leary jumped forward, but when she saw Percy she seemed to droop as a low whine of sadness escaped her lips. She looked accusingly at Annabeth who seemed largely healed from her major wounds.

"Mrs. O'Leary, we can save him, but I need you to watch him. Make sure no monsters find him while I get him something to heal his wounds. Okay?" Annabeth said hesitantly to the giant monster. She knew Mrs. O'Leary would be more than enough to take out some serious monsters, and she was loyal to Percy.

Mrs. O'Leary howled, sitting down next to Percy and licking his face. Annabeth sighed a breath of relief before she grabbed Riptide from Percy's pocket and headed out toward the far ridge. She wasn't sure how far away it was and that made her nervous. Navigating in a wasteland of repeating rubble would be hard but she didn't have a choice.

Annabeth walked for what felt like about three or four hours before she finally neared the rocky out cliff that the Fates had pointed her towards. There was no day or night in Tartarus, only the same gloomy glow and heat that felt like the desert – baking hot at times and freezing at others.

As the hill neared, voices began to echo towards Annabeth. Voices that chilled her straight to her core as she climbed up the ridge. She crouched low behind a boulder near the top of the ridge and peered slowly down below. Two Gorgons were sitting across from each other, bones strewn across the ground at their feet. For the time being there were two. _Thanks the Gods,_ Annabeth thought to herself as she realized that Medusa wasn't here yet.

Annabeth didn't know what to do next. She had never been really strong at sword work. Percy fought both Gorgons at the same time, but he had the blessing of Achilles when battled them. He had told Annabeth that if he hadn't had the blessing he would have been killed. If Percy would have been killed, Annabeth didn't stand a chance.

Annabeth knew that she would need to find a way to outsmart them. It was the only way she might kill one. And to be truthful, Annabeth figured that she would need to kill both since she doubted one would let the other be killed and go on its way peacefully. Annabeth looked around her landscape. She was up on a rocky ridge clustered with boulders. Far down a steep rocky hill the Gorgons sat at the bottom of a rocky canyon filled with bones and blood. The sight was terrifying.

Down at the bottom of the canyon, Stheno stood at the bottom of the canyon, snakes hissing in her hair, her bronze hands scratching her scaly skin. Her sister Euryale stood next to her, clutching a razor sharp bone and picking at her long, poisonous fangs.

"There's something stuck in one" Euryale complained. Stheno smacked her upside the head before replying "shhh sister strange scents are in the air".

Annabeth paled. Quickly she looked around. The boulder she was hiding behind was large. Pulling out Riptide and uncapping it, Annabeth jammed riptides hilt under the boulder and let go. At first, nothing happened, before the blade began to glow and the boulder exploded off the ridge, crashing towards the two Gorgons. Riptide would always return to Percy no matter what it had to do to get back to his pocket. Annabeth grinned smugly, she had always wondered what would happen if the sword was stuck somewhere, like, say, under a boulder.

After crashing down the hill, starting many other smaller piles of rocks tumbling, the giant slab of rock slammed into the two Gorgon's at the bottom of the canyon. Annabeth wasn't sure how she pulled it off, but suddenly appearing on top of the canyon, two glowing bottles appeared. When they first appeared, one shone an ominous black with a grey mist surrounding it, while the other gave a golden shimmer and a warm yellow glow. Before even a second passed, the two bottles both became clear. Annabeth knew the one on the left would be the blood that would kill any enemy; the one on the right would heal Percy.

Scampering down the sleep embankment took time. By the time Annabeth was down the cliff, she had numerous scrapes and cuts and her ankle was aching again.

Finally, she reached the bottles, before tucking the right one in her right pocket of her jeans, the left one in her back left pocket. Annabeth turned glumly and tiredly to look at the climb she had to get back to the top of the canyon and sighed. She was exhausted, but she couldn't delay. Percy needed his soul back. She sat on a rock catching her breath before her climb back up the canyon when suddenly a massive shape flew out of the shadows. Mrs. O'Leary leaped out of the shadows, gently dropping Percy as an arrow flew out of the shadow over her head. The shadow vanished and Mrs. O'Leary looked around warily before she sank to the ground warily looking exhausted.

Annabeth was stunned. Clearly Mrs. O'Leary ran into something terrible enough to make a quick escape with Percy. She had to hurry. Quickly Annabeth ran up to Percy, pulling the bottle of Gorgon's blood from the right side of the bottle out. She uncorked it and trickled the liquid into Percy's mouth nervously. The liquid sizzled in Percy's mouth like acid, making Annabeth nervous. She was sure that this was the right bottle, but part of her worried that maybe this was her hubris and she would be wrong.

Percy's body shook violently, seeming to steam. Tears flowed out of Annabeth's eyes as Mrs. O'Leary looked at the scene with blurry, tired eyes.

With a gasp, Annabeth began to look down at Percy's body. He was steaming, but the steam was healing his body. Open wounds and gashes faded into scars, his ribs mended and blood forced its way out of his lungs to clear them and allow for oxygen. Rapidly Percy's body began to glow. The ground began to shake around them as his body emanated a vibrant sea green glow. The light began to blind Annabeth as she closer her eyes.

As suddenly as the wave of light had erupted, it had dimmed. Percy's eyelids fluttered before opening and immediately locking on to Annabeth's face with a wild and wide-eyed expression. His face looked shocked and relieved. His eyes swirled with emotions like a stormy sea.

"Percy…" Annabeth grasped his shoulders looking at his face.

"Annabeth…" Percy choked out. He gasped for air still, before seeming to calm at her touch. Annabeth, I was in Hades realm what happened what's going on? Was I just dreaming…?

Before Annabeth could answer Percy, a loud roar issued from the ridge of the Canyon as two massive horns and the head of the Minotaur appeared at the edge of the canyon, battle-axe raised, a roar of anger wailing out through the darkness. Of course, the light from Percy's soul returning to his body was so bright in the gloom of Tartarus that it had attracted monsters.

Percy and Annabeth jumped up, ready to fight, hand in hand. Percy drew riptide out of his pocket, uncapping it.

"Come to get killed again? Bring it on Beef-Face" Percy taunted, as the Minotaur charged down the hill. Annabeth gasped when she realized that more shapes were forming on the horizon as she quickly drew her dagger. The fight had just gotten much worse.

**Reviewwww! Please? I really want to hear some thoughts about what you guys think. Where should I take it from here? I have a few ideas, but who would you like to see Percy and Annabeth fight while in Tartarus? What is your favorite monster Percy killed? :) Have a good weekend. And please please review!**


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